1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of containers for storing a variety of items in a motor vehicle and more particularly to storage cabinets for sport or utility vehicles.
2. Background Information
There is a large class of passenger vehicles which have two compartments: a passenger compartment in the front and a cargo or luggage compartment in the rear. Such cargo or luggage compartments are typically significantly larger than a conventional sedan trunk and are typically accessible through a back door which may open upward, downward, or from either side. Pickups, station wagons, and sport utility vehicles are examples of vehicles in this class.
The cargo compartments of such vehicles are often used to store or transport a wide variety of objects or materials ranging from luggage to hunting and fishing gear to building materials. The use of such cargo compartments for storage or transport of such a wide variety of objects or materials often results in several problems. When many articles are placed in such cargo compartments they regularly become disorganized and it may become difficult to locate a particular article.
Articles placed in such cargo compartments are often susceptible to theft and, in the case of open cargo compartments, are also susceptible to weather damage. Articles placed in the cargo compartment of vehicles such as station wagons are ordinarily in plain view through windows, and, therefore, a more tempting target to thieves than hidden articles. In many instances parents desire a relatively secure place to store dangerous articles such as medicines or weapons to prevent access by children while traveling.
Furthermore, relatively delicate articles such as fishing poles or instruments are susceptible to breakage when transported in an open cargo compartment with other, sturdier, items.
In many instances persons such as travelers, salesmen, or hunters desire a portable storage cabinet which may be moved back and forth from the house, office, or motel to their vehicle with relative ease. Salesmen, for example, may have valuable samples which they do not wish to leave in their vehicles overnight while traveling.
Owners of enclosed utility vehicles often would find it convenient to have an interior storage area which may be accessed from inside the vehicle. Owners of utility vehicles also would find it desirable to have a protected storage area which may be accessed without unloading the rest of the cargo compartment and upon which articles may be stored or transported.
Several attempts have been made to solve at least some of the aforementioned problems. One such attempt is disclosed in the patent to Whitaker (U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,284, Aug. 24, 1993). The Whitaker patent discloses a semi-rigid cargo cover which is attached near the top of a cargo compartment by D-rings which engage hooks fastened to the side walls of the cargo compartment. This invention does provide a cover for cargo and does provide for limited storage of articles on top of the cargo cover. However, the invention does not solve other problems outlined above.
Another attempt to solve problems related to vehicle cargo compartments is disclosed in the patent to Phirippidis (U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,964, Jun. 25, 1991). The Phirippidis patent discloses a universal, modular, vehicle organizer which fits into the trunk of a car or the rear of a van. The organizer rest on the floor of the trunk or van and is divided to provide useful storage spaces for sales literature, catalogs, samples, or parts for use by persons engaged in sales or repair. This invention does provide a method for organizing articles stored or transported in the cargo compartment of a vehicle, but does not solve the other problems outlined above.
The ideal vehicle storage cabinet provides all of the following for objects or materials stored or transported in the cargo compartment: organization, security, protection, portability, convenience, and safe storage or transport of other objects on top of the storage cabinet.